


Let Me Kiss You

by allwaswell16



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Flirting, Boys Kissing, Chatting & Messaging, Chicago (City), M/M, Meet-Cute, Meme, OT5 Friendship, POV Harry, Pining, Screenshots
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-04
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-27 20:25:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10047287
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allwaswell16/pseuds/allwaswell16
Summary: Harry Styles is on top of the world. He's moving to Chicago to live in a kick ass apartment that he's sharing with his old college friend, Niall. When their old college crew makes plans to hang out, Harry realizes he will be coming face to face with his unrequited crush, Louis.-H: Tommo’s?N: Yeah. Tommo. Louis. Tomlinson. Are we seriously doing this? You really gonna pretend you don’t know who I’m talking about? Dude I’ve seen you sign ‘Harry Tomlinson’ all over a piece of paper.H: That was a long time ago!N: So you do know who I’m talking about thenH: Yes. Just it was a long time ago.N: It was 3 years ago not 30 years ago. Anyway I’ll text you the address. Liam and Zayn will meet you there in an hour and I’ll be there as soon as I can.H: I can’t just show up!N: Why not? He knows you’re coming. See you there. Later.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [afirethatcannotdie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/afirethatcannotdie/gifts).



> Ellie, my sweet friend, I am wishing you a wonderful birthday! I hope you enjoy the mutual pining I wrote you for this special day. All the love! xx
> 
> There are screenshots of text conversations in this fic, but they are repeated within the text. So if you're not reading on ao3, you're still getting the full story, just without the photos. I would however recommend going to look at them at some point because one of them is a really hot photo of Harry. Just fyi.

 

*

 

Harry maneuvers the car through the mid-morning Chicago traffic, blasting Fleetwood Mac. He drums his fingers against the steering wheel as he belts out, “You can go your own way, go your own way, you can call it another lonely day, you can go your own way!” Sunlight pours through the windows and only adds to the brightness of Harry’s life at the moment. He’s so fucking excited about moving to the city. He checks the GPS directions to his and Niall’s new apartment for the hundredth time even though he knows where he’s going.

As he heads down Michigan Avenue, he has to pinch himself at the thought that he’s going to live downtown. When he heard his transfer to the Chicago office was going through, Niall is the first person he called. Niall had let out a whoop and worked his own special brand of Niall magic, and suddenly, Harry had a two bedroom apartment in the Loop and Niall for a roommate.

As soon as he parks the rental car in the underground garage, he texts Niall that he’s arrived.

            _N:_ _Thank fuck because I’m trapped behind some boxes_

Harry laughs to himself as he grabs his bag and heads up to the eighth floor. He does indeed find Niall trapped behind a multitude of boxes that are piled up between Niall and the rest of the house. He’s sitting on a couch pressed up against the floor to ceiling windows looking out onto an incredible view of skyscrapers. Well, an incredible view if you didn’t count the boxes.

“Hey, H! I’d come hug you or some shit, but I can’t.” Niall shrugs. “The movers blocked me in.”

“Well, you could move the boxes.”

“Nah, was waiting for you.” Niall doesn’t look up from his phone, but he still somehow senses the look on Harry’s face. “Don’t look at me like that. You know if I unpack shit in the wrong place you’ll just be all pissy.”

Well, that’s true, so Harry gives up and slings his bag into the smaller bedroom to begin unpacking his way to Niall.

*

Harry and Niall spent last night and the better part of the morning unpacking boxes, but Niall gets called into work around noon. Harry spends another few hours organizing the kitchen the way he wants it and cleaning up some of the mess the move has created. He takes a long hot shower and uses it as an opportunity to walk around naked while Niall isn’t around. (He does have to make a quick note to self not to do this in front of the floor to ceiling windows at least not with the blinds open.) With the blinds safely closed now, he unpacks a few more things in his bedroom when he hears his phone buzz with a text.

 

            N: _Please tell me you’re done unpacking everything_

**_H: Nope. I’m not unpacking your shit._**

_N: Whatever. Go get ready. We’re going out tonight._

**_H: Where are we going?_**

_N: I don’t know yet. Meeting up at Tommo’s in an hour. He’s only a few blocks from us._

Tommo. Oh God. Louis Tomlinson. Harry’s pulse quickens. Louis Tomlinson, the man who once organized a campus walk out over censorship in their university newspaper. Louis Tomlinson, the man who climbed a tree outside Harry’s dorm to rescue a cat. Louis Tomlinson, the man who would play the grand piano in the Old Capitol building when he thought no one was around. Louis Tomlinson, the man who would play soccer in the quad with his friends, sometimes shirtless. Louis who could make anyone laugh and brighten their day. Louis with the wide set blue eyes and long eyelashes that would fan out across his cheeks. Louis with the chiseled features and a button nose. Louis with the rock hard thighs and the most perfectly curved ass ever created. Louis shines as brightly as the sun, and Harry had pined over him for their four long years of college. To be perfectly honest Louis still showed up on a regular basis in Harry’s fantasies. So maybe make that seven years of pining.

He knew Louis lived in the city based on his Instagram posts, but he had no idea he lived so close to their new place. He has maybe underestimated how friendly Louis and Niall are now as well.

**H:** ** _Tommo’s?_**

_N: Yeah. Tommo. Louis. Tomlinson. Are we seriously doing this? You really gonna pretend you don’t know who I’m talking about? Dude I’ve seen you sign ‘Harry Tomlinson’ all over a piece of paper._

**_H: That was a long time ago!_**

_N: So you do know who I’m talking about then_

**_H: Yes. Just it was a long time ago._**

_N: It was 3 years ago not 30 years ago. Anyway I’ll text you the address. Liam and Zayn will meet you there in an hour and I’ll be there as soon as I can._

**_H: I can’t just show up!_**

_N: Why not? He knows you’re coming. See you there. Later._

Harry groans. He sits naked on his bed with his head in his hands, trying to calm down. This isn’t a big deal. Just all going to hang out together. It’s _fine_ . He’s _fine_ . It will all be _fine_. But a memory flashes through his mind of a particular look Louis would sometimes give, one he didn’t even seem to realize he was giving. His eyes would narrow just slightly and he’d lick his lips and—Harry feels his dick twitch at the memory, and he wraps a hand around himself. Fuck. No, no, no, no.

“I don’t have time for that!” He yells into the empty apartment. He jumps up and starts ripping open boxes looking for his favorite pair of jeans. In a panic he doesn’t see the proper box in his bedroom and spends too much time running nude through their apartment looking for his still packed clothes. He finds most of the boxes marked ‘Harry’s clothes’ in Niall’s bedroom. Niall did not do a great job of directing the movers. He tears through the boxes until he finds his tightest pair of black jeans. Most of his favorite shirts are wrinkled beyond belief, and he has no idea which box has the iron. He finds a plain white dress shirt that he thinks he can make work. He leaves most of the buttons undone and rolls up the sleeves, and he thinks it looks okay. Some of his newer tattoos are visible, just as he prefers. He paces the apartment until it’s time to head out. He nearly falls over trying to put his boots on, so he leans back against the wall and takes a few deep breaths before he leaves.

The late spring weather is nice for walking around the city, but the wind blows his hair around a bit more than he likes. He finds himself desperately trying to tame it as the doorman lets him through to the elevators. As each floor passes by, Harry’s breathing becomes more erratic. He knocks at the door, his heart in his throat.

The door swings open to reveal Louis Tomlinson in all his sweaty, soccer gear glory. His hair is wind blown into a soft fringe, his eyes just as bright with blue mischief as Harry remembers, a fitted soccer jersey clinging to his body, and God help him, white soccer shorts that seem to leave little to the imagination.

“Hey, Harry! Thought we were meeting here at seven? Did I have that wrong?”

It’s six o’clock. Harry is going to murder Niall. “Oh god. I’m sorry. Niall told me six. I can come back—“

“No, no! It’s fine! Uh, I just got back from a match, so I’m a bit of a mess though.” Louis motions to the grass and mud staining one side of his body.  “Come in though, really!”

Louis ushers him through the door and into the living room. He motions at the couch, and Harry slumps into it as Louis sits in the chair next to him. “Been a long time, Harry! I’d hug you or something, but I’m pretty sure I smell at the moment,” he says with a laugh.

“Oh, I’d take the hug.” Holy fuck. No. Why did he say that? Shit.

Louis raises an eyebrow. “Really? Well, you look really nice, Harry. Wouldn’t want you to get--dirty.”  Louis clears his throat and stands up. “Gonna grab a water. You want anything?”

“No,” Harry says as he watches Louis walk into the kitchen. He wishes he could say _, I could use a bottle of vodka to drown my embarrassment in, thanks._

Louis comes back with a bottle of water, and Harry’s eyes track the lines of Louis’ throat as he drinks it in long gulps. “So I hear you just moved here for work. I was always sorry we lost touch a bit after college.”

Louis Tomlinson is sorry they lost touch. Harry’s brain sets off a cacophony of party noisemakers.

“I just see your posts on Instagram, you know? Can’t tell a whole lot from just that.”

Louis Tomlinson looks at his posts on Instagram. Confetti bursts through the noisemakers in Harry’s mind.

“Do you do anything with your photography? Because your photos look amazing on there. You’re really talented, Harry.”

Louis Tomlinson actually pays attention to his photography. A rainbow of balloons fill themselves with helium behind his eyes.

“No selfies for you,” Louis laughs, but there’s a wry smile on his face. Almost as if he was disappointed in Harry’s lack of selfies.

Louis Tomlinson wishes he posted selfies. The balloons in his head pop, and streamers rain down.

He’s fine though.

Harry manages to answer him back about his photography, and Harry is proud of himself for holding it together enough to hold a conversation with Louis. They talk for the better part of an hour about work, their families, old college memories, and the Cubs’ World Series chances this year. It reminds Harry about how easy it is to talk to Louis. He’d forgotten that Louis could put anyone at ease. He’d spent two years of college admiring Louis from afar until his and Niall’s friend, Liam, began dating Louis’ friend, Zayn, and suddenly they went to the same parties and moved in the same circles. His admiration only growing the more he knew Louis.

As he listens to Louis talk about a local band he thinks they should all check out tonight, Harry wishes he’d taken his chances back then. Maybe that’s what _this_ is, another chance.

Harry smiles. “Remember when you climbed that tree outside Evans Hall?”

Louis laughs and a slight flush of color climbs into his cheeks. “Ah, yeah. The cat, right?”

“Yeah, I always thought that was really—impressive.”

Louis runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, well that cat really scratched the shit out of my arm, but it was worth it.”

“Because you rescued the cat?”

“Well, that, of course. And because it impressed you. Enough that you’re still talking about it.”

The oxygen seems to be sucked out of the room at this admission, and Harry admires the stain of pink on Louis’ cheeks as he feels his blood rush in his ears. The moment is interrupted by the buzz of Louis’ cell phone. Louis checks the incoming text.

“Oh. It’s already seven! I hadn’t noticed!” He glances up at Harry’s face. “I’m not even ready to go anywhere. Zayn says he and Liam are running late, so I’m going to go take a shower if you don’t mind. I don’t know where Niall is.”

Harry swallows down the thought of Louis in the shower. It’s going to be torture sitting out here listening to the water, knowing it’s streaming over the curves of Louis’ body. “Of course. Go take a shower.” He tries to smile, but he’s not sure if it looks normal or like he’s trying not to choke on his own tongue.

Louis is nearly to his bedroom door when his phone buzzes again. “Louis, your phone—“

“Oh, is it Zayn? Could you check and see what he said? He was going to text me about our plans..”

Harry grabs the phone, still able to check without a password or fingerprint. By the time he looks there are a series of messages after the first one Louis had seen.

            _Z: GPS says we’ll be there in an hour. Sorry. Traffic. And you know how Liam drives._

_Z: You gonna make a move tonight or what? You have to bro. How many years are you going to waste obsessing over him?_

_Z: I can’t spend another minute talking about his long legs and silky curls and hot lips or whatever the fuck you always say._

_Z: How come you didn’t say anything about the meme I made you earlier? ;p_

Harry feels like he’s going to pass out. He can’t quite take a full breath. He knows he shouldn’t scroll back up through Louis’ phone to look at whatever Zayn made, but is Zayn talking about him? He is, isn’t he? He’s got legs. And curls. And lips. Okay, he could be talking about anyone, but he still thinks there’s a distinct possibility Zayn means him.

He hears the shower turn on, and he desperately tries not to think about the fact that Louis is currently naked and sliding his hands over his body. He needs to calm down before he has to use his inhaler. He takes a couple of slow breaths, still clutching Louis’ phone. His finger slips. Oops.

The screen darts back up and shows a photograph of Harry that Zayn has plastered text across. The words say: Future Mr. Tomlinson with a winky face emoji. Harry’s jaw hangs open just as Louis bursts out through his bedroom door and back out into the living room. He’s soaking wet with only a towel slung across his bottom half, his hair completely swathed in shampoo bubbles.

“DON’T LOOK AT THE PHONE!” Louis shouts, dripping water across the hardwood floors as he rushes to snatch the phone out of Harry’s hands with one of his own, the other one holding up his towel. He stands before Harry, a puddle of water at his feet. He doesn’t even look at the phone to see if Harry has looked through it. He must know just by the look on Harry’s face.

Louis covers his eyes with one arm. “Well, this is—

            “—amazing.”

            “—mortifying.”

Harry stands up and gently removes Louis’ arm. He’s standing much too close. Louis’ breath hitches a bit. “I guess you saw the meme.”

A sideways smirk crosses Harry’s face. “Among other things.”

“What other things?” Louis takes a step back from him and looks at the series of messages. “Oh my fucking god, I’m going to kill Zayn.”

Harry doesn’t like this amount of distance between them, not with what he knows now. “Louis?” The word rumbles out of him as he closes the gap between them. “I’ve been crazy about you since the day I laid eyes on you during freshman orientation.” He tilts Louis chin up with the touch of his fingers. “Can I kiss you now? I’ve been waiting for seven years.”

Louis nods yes, his eyes wide, as Harry presses their lips together. Louis drops his phone to the floor in a clatter as his fingers thread through Harry’s curls, and Harry’s hands slide over the still damp skin of Louis’ back. His hands slide further until he makes the discovery that the only thing keeping the towel between them is the pressure of their bodies against each other. Louis deepens the kiss, and Harry sees stars.

“Well, well, well. Look who finally got their shit together,” Niall says from the entryway. “You left the door open by the way.” He says as Harry and Louis jump apart. “Lou, you might want to go wash that shampoo out of your hair and probably do something about that boner situation you’ve got going on over there. I’m gonna grab a beer if you don’t mind.”

Some of the shampoo has made its way into one of Harry’s eyes. He rubs it as Louis flees back to the bathroom.  Louis’ towel slips a bit lower as he makes his getaway, and Harry is glad there’s a couch behind him to collapse on top of.

“I can hear you panting from here,” Niall calls out from the kitchen.

“If that hadn’t just all gone better than any of my fantasies, I would kill you for sending me here an hour early. You did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

Niall shrugs and takes a long gulp of beer. “I’ll just finish this and head out then.”

“What? Where are you going? I thought we were all going somewhere. Zayn said he and Liam would be here in an hour.”

Niall rolls his eyes. “Please. You think I’m an amateur or something? Zayn and Liam haven’t even left Lincoln Park. I’m just here to make sure the plan worked, which I knew it would. Plan B is having Zayn and Liam come, and we all go out and wait for Louis to put the moves on you. I’ve already texted Zayn that Plan A is a go and not to bother coming.”

“You’re a bit scary, you know that?”

Niall tips his beer to Harry and grins.

*

When Louis emerges from his bedroom twenty minutes later, Harry isn’t sure his heart can take all these adrenaline rushes. First Louis in his soccer gear, then naked Louis in just a towel, and now this—Louis with his hair quiffed up, sharpening his features, a black t-shirt so thin Harry can see his tattoos through it, his black jeans painted onto his body, and shiny, dark oxford dress shoes. Why and how are these shoes so sexy? Harry knows he is staring, but he seems to have lost any control over himself at the moment. He tries to swallow, but his mouth is dry and he nearly chokes instead.

The apartment is silent, and Harry is pretty sure Louis said something. If he did, Harry didn’t hear it over the static sounds the blood rushing through his ears is making.

“Did you say something?”

Louis smirks. He must know how good he looks. God help Harry if he turns around and can see what his ass looks like in those jeans.

“I said, where is Niall?” Louis asks as he walks over to the couch.

Harry gives him an embarrassed smile. “Oh. Um, he left.”

Louis raises an eyebrow. “He left?”

“Yes. And Zayn and Liam aren’t coming. Apparently, they never even left Lincoln Park.”

“Oh.” Louis seems to be letting that thought sink in as he sits next to Harry.

“Uh, so if you want, I was thinking I could take you out. Um, on a date? If you want?” Harry can’t help the blush washing over him even if he’s fairly certain about Louis at this point, and he can’t keep himself from rambling on. “I could take you out to dinner. And we could go see that band you were talking about. Or we could go to a movie. Or there’s a new exhibit at the Shedd. Or—“

Louis brushes his fingers against Harry’s arm, and Harry can feel the tingle of pleasure run up his spine and into his chest. “Harry?”

“Yes?”

“Why don’t we just stay here?” Louis asks softly as he looks up into Harry’s eyes.

Harry is mesmerized by him. “Yes. Here. I’ll stay here. Please.”

Louis gives him a soft smile. “We can order in and talk and pretend our friends haven’t completely set us up. Unless that seems boring—“

Harry leans in, brushing his lips against Louis’. Harry pulls back just enough to look at the dreamy expression on Louis’ face, his eyes closed. “Oh, Louis. If you only knew.”

*

 

 

[Tumblr post-Let Me Kiss You](http://allwaswell16.tumblr.com/post/157981851566/let-me-kiss-you-by-allwaswell16-for)

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you taggiecb for betaing this for me and helping me with all the texts and screenshots. I hope no one cares that we didn't actually time everything perfectly for it. We had enough trouble doing it as it was because technologically savvy we are not, but for a few brief moments she got to be Niall and Zayn, and I got to be Harry and Louis. So that made it all worth it in the end. xx
> 
> Thanks for reading! If you liked it, please leave kudos/comments/reblog the tumblr post! And don't forget to tell afirethatcannotdie happy birthday! <3


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